Mets' Johan Santana tosses pain-free bullpen

By MIKE KERWICK

STAFF WRITER |

The Record

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – His only false step occurred on Field No. 2, before Johan Santana threw pitch No. 1 off a mound. Treating his black baseball glove like a soccer ball, Santana attempted to rainbow it over his shoulder using only his feet.

Johan Santana, talking to catcher Rob Johnson last week in camp, gave the Mets more encouraging news Thursday.

It was a nice effort, but ultimately futile, the polar contrast to what Santana was able to accomplish during his 13-minute bullpen session.

All arrows still point toward opening day; all traffic lights still glow green. Santana threw approximately 40 pitches Thursday morning. He reported no lingering pain, no shoulder stiffness.

It was his first bullpen since the 29-pitch, two-inning start he made against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday afternoon. And it was a success.

"I feel good," Santana told reporters afterward. "I was able to throw my bullpen without any problems and with a little intensity and work on all my pitches. And I feel pretty good."

Next up: a Sunday afternoon start against the Miami Marlins and – potentially – former teammate Jose Reyes.

"That would be the goal," Santana said. "To go out, do three innings and build up from there. We'll see how it goes."

Bubbling with optimism after Santana's Tuesday afternoon start, Mets manager Terry Collins knew a more telling portrait of Santana's left shoulder would not emerge until the left-hander threw his bullpen Thursday.

After Thursday's session was in the books, Collins acknowledged Santana did battle some routine soreness following his Tuesday outing.

"He was pretty stiff [Wednesday], which you should probably expect," Collins said after the Mets' 5-4 loss to the Miami Marlins at Digital Domain Park. "A little extra adrenaline. I told him, I said, 'It's going to be like that each time you get out there. The more you build up, the little bit stiffer you're going to be.' But he feels fine. He's on schedule for Sunday."

Santana first carried his cleats out of the clubhouse at 11:06 a.m. Wednesday. After throwing long toss with Mets catcher Mike Nickeas and popping by to say hello to one of his agents, Santana climbed atop the bullpen mound at 11:23.

Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen kept his eyes trained on Santana. He filmed part of the session, then stepped into the batter's box, sans bat, for part of the session. At one point, Warthen watched a pitch crack the catcher's mitt with serious pace. He nodded knowingly, then flashed Santana a thumbs-up.

By 11:36, Santana was hugging Nickeas, done for the day.

"I'm not the doctor, I don't know how it feels," Nickeas said. "But I thought his stuff was A-plus today."

Asked if there was anything that gave him pause since his Tuesday appearance, Santana said, "No, not at all."

"I've been fine. Yesterday I played catch, no problem. Today, same thing, no problems."

Reflecting on his first start of the spring, Santana said he was trying to locate his fastballs. He fell behind in the count to a few hitters, which limited how often he threw his slider.

He acknowledged the relief that continues to wash over him each time one of these sessions ends with his shoulder pain-free.

"Every time," Santana said. "For me, it's a day-to-day thing. And every day is important. And every time I go through everything, it's a day closer to coming back."

The next step comes Sunday, when Collins ups the pitch count and innings total on his ace.

"I think he's going to be healthy," Collins said, "and I think we're going to make some adjustments as we go through spring training to make sure he leaves this camp on this team."

Mets' Johan Santana tosses pain-free bullpen

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – His only false step occurred on Field No. 2, before Johan Santana threw pitch No. 1 off a mound. Treating his black baseball glove like a soccer ball, Santana attempted to rainbow it over his shoulder using only his feet.

Johan Santana, talking to catcher Rob Johnson last week in camp, gave the Mets more encouraging news Thursday.

It was a nice effort, but ultimately futile, the polar contrast to what Santana was able to accomplish during his 13-minute bullpen session.

All arrows still point toward opening day; all traffic lights still glow green. Santana threw approximately 40 pitches Thursday morning. He reported no lingering pain, no shoulder stiffness.

It was his first bullpen since the 29-pitch, two-inning start he made against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday afternoon. And it was a success.

"I feel good," Santana told reporters afterward. "I was able to throw my bullpen without any problems and with a little intensity and work on all my pitches. And I feel pretty good."

Next up: a Sunday afternoon start against the Miami Marlins and – potentially – former teammate Jose Reyes.

"That would be the goal," Santana said. "To go out, do three innings and build up from there. We'll see how it goes."

Bubbling with optimism after Santana's Tuesday afternoon start, Mets manager Terry Collins knew a more telling portrait of Santana's left shoulder would not emerge until the left-hander threw his bullpen Thursday.

After Thursday's session was in the books, Collins acknowledged Santana did battle some routine soreness following his Tuesday outing.

"He was pretty stiff [Wednesday], which you should probably expect," Collins said after the Mets' 5-4 loss to the Miami Marlins at Digital Domain Park. "A little extra adrenaline. I told him, I said, 'It's going to be like that each time you get out there. The more you build up, the little bit stiffer you're going to be.' But he feels fine. He's on schedule for Sunday."

Santana first carried his cleats out of the clubhouse at 11:06 a.m. Wednesday. After throwing long toss with Mets catcher Mike Nickeas and popping by to say hello to one of his agents, Santana climbed atop the bullpen mound at 11:23.

Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen kept his eyes trained on Santana. He filmed part of the session, then stepped into the batter's box, sans bat, for part of the session. At one point, Warthen watched a pitch crack the catcher's mitt with serious pace. He nodded knowingly, then flashed Santana a thumbs-up.

By 11:36, Santana was hugging Nickeas, done for the day.

"I'm not the doctor, I don't know how it feels," Nickeas said. "But I thought his stuff was A-plus today."

Asked if there was anything that gave him pause since his Tuesday appearance, Santana said, "No, not at all."

"I've been fine. Yesterday I played catch, no problem. Today, same thing, no problems."

Reflecting on his first start of the spring, Santana said he was trying to locate his fastballs. He fell behind in the count to a few hitters, which limited how often he threw his slider.

He acknowledged the relief that continues to wash over him each time one of these sessions ends with his shoulder pain-free.

"Every time," Santana said. "For me, it's a day-to-day thing. And every day is important. And every time I go through everything, it's a day closer to coming back."

The next step comes Sunday, when Collins ups the pitch count and innings total on his ace.

"I think he's going to be healthy," Collins said, "and I think we're going to make some adjustments as we go through spring training to make sure he leaves this camp on this team."